McGrath working to fill voids on UNCW roster, staff

Esleeck becomes the first assistant coach hired while recruiting efforts for five spots get underway

By Alex Riley StarNews Staff

C.B. McGrath knew he had spots open on the UNCW men’s basketball roster before taking the job. He’s now got another opening to fill and a short window to do it in.

Mineral Wells College signee Zac Cuthbertson has been released from his National Letter of Intent to UNCW. Cuthbertson, a West Craven graduate, was the only remaining signee from the five-man class Kevin Keatts and his staff put together before leaving. McGrath spoke to every player in the class about the possibility of staying signed with the program. None of the other four players have signed with another school yet.

That leaves McGrath with five open scholarships to fill. Recruiting is currently in a short dead period that ends Friday and goes through April 19. McGrath will be hitting the road to take a look at talent during different basketball events over the coming days.

“Just because we don’t have anybody right now, it doesn’t bother me. I’ve played with eight people on a roster before. We’re going to have a team, we’re going to field a team no matter who we get,” McGrath said. “We’re going to prioritize some people in some positions and see if we can find somebody that we think can be great for UNCW.”

While there are spots available on the Seahawk roster, McGrath stresses that it isn’t as simple as plugging a body into a slot.

He and his assistants will recruit what the program needs to run his system. Graduate transfers and late arrivals are also options the program will explore if need be.

“We want to find guys that can help us that I can see fitting into the program. I don’t want to make a mistake on a kid and have him be here four years if he’s not good enough to play,” McGrath said.

He added: “There are people out. We’ve got to do a good job and convince them to come here.”

Esleeck hired as assistant

McGrath’s first assistant coaching role has been filled as former Mercer associate head coach Doug Esleeck has joined the staff.

The North Carolina graduate was in Chapel Hill when McGrath arrived finishing up his degree. McGrath and Esleeck got to know each other when Esleeck served as a strength and conditioning coach in 2004-05.

When news began to break that McGrath was in the running for the UNCW opening, Esleeck texted to say he’d be interested in joining his staff if he was hired.

“I just have always respected how hard he worked and admired how hard he worked and thought he’d be great here with me,” McGrath said.

Esleeck has spent the last seven years at Mercer working for Bob Hoffman. He was promoted to associated head coach in 2014. Before that, he spent four years at Gardner-Webb and a year at UNC Greensboro.

Esleeck’s knowledge of the region’s players and coaches will be called upon early as UNCW tries to fill those five open spots on the roster.

“He knows the area. He knows the coaches in the area. He knows the AAU programs. He’s perfect,” McGrath said. “I knew he was going to be one of the first calls if I got the job to see if he’d come with me.”

McGrath noted that he will be hiring four other staff members in the coming weeks. There are two more assistant coaching vacancies to fill, as well as a director of basketball operations role and video coordinator. A second assistant coaching vacancy should be filled by the end of the week.

No change on Bryce’s status

A Twitter report Wednesday afternoon said UNCW sophomore C.J. Bryce had requested his release from the university. However, UNCW athletic director Jimmy Bass said that Bryce has not asked for his release in writing.

According to the school’s student-athlete handbook, an athlete must submit a formal request for release from the school. In order to be released, an athlete must have a 2.6 GPA. Athletes can leave on their own, but if they are not granted a release by UNCW they cannot receive athletic scholarship money their first year at the new school.

During McGrath’s introductory press conference last week, the Charlotte native said he was planning to be in Wilmington next year but didn’t know if something might change down the road.

-- Reporter Alex Riley can be reached at 910-343-2034 or Alex.Riley@StarNewsOnline.com.

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